Stew Leonard Sr. faces lawsuit in boating accident

Published 6:24 am, Friday, April 6, 2012

BRIDGEPORT -- A former Westport woman has filed a lawsuit against Stewart Leonard Sr., claiming the founder of the Norwalk-based grocery chain caused the death of her husband last summer.

Barbara Speranza filed the lawsuit Wednesday at Bridgeport Superior Court against Leonard Sr., his son Thomas Leonard and the company that owns the boat.

Speranza's attorney, Joel T. Faxon of the New Haven law firm Stratton Faxon, said his client is seeking millions of dollars in damages for the death of her husband, Robert, who was killed near the Caribbean island of Tortola on Aug. 16, 2011.

"The actions of Mr. Leonard and the captain of the boat, in taking that trip under rough weather conditions was highly reckless," Faxon said. "They never should have gone on that trip, given the conditions, and the cavalier attitude of Mr. Leonard in navigating the boat led to Robert's death."

Speranza, a former Westport resident who owned the Ocean Club in St. Maarten, was violently thrown overboard after a wave crashed into the side of Leonard's $4.6 million, 70-foot powerboat. Speranza reportedly broke his back in two places after being hit by the wave and likely died before entering the water.

Faxon said it is still unclear who was operating the boat, nicknamed "Stew's Special," at the time of the accident.

The lawsuit claims that the boat was being operated at high speeds in dangerous seas off the coast of St. Maarten, where Leonard owns a summer home. A small craft advisory warning had been issued for the area, the lawsuit says.

Leonard, who also resides in Westport, told The Hour after the incident that a "rogue wave" 12 to 15 feet high hit his boat, smashing the windscreen and almost capsizing the vessel.

Leonard declined to comment on the case through a family spokesman.

Faxon said that Leonard often referred to his boat as "the fastest in the Caribbean." The boat had been specially designed to reach speeds upward of 90 miles per hour, he said.

Robert Speranza was a longtime neighbor of Leonard's and a friend for more than 40 years.

The 73-year-old Speranza helped design parts of Apollo 13 and the F-16 fighter jet before he and his wife retired to St. Maarten. Faxon said the couple had been married for 53 years.